Biking with Kids on St. George's Urban Trails

St. George, Utah, has a wonderful urban trail system. We took our bikes on our last visit to take advantage of it. You can find a map of the trail system here, although I wanted a larger version and was able to get one (along with a lot of other great information) from the BLM office on Riverside Drive (follow the signs to recreation information).

I had previously ridden some of the trails with the kids, including along the Virgin River, and found the trails amazing. Here you are, in a fairly large city, but you can get away from it all so easily and be right next to nature!

Canada geese on top of a cliff next to the trail

For this trip, we decided that we would try out sections of trails we hadn't been on yet. To entice the kids, we linked up several playgrounds. After all, what kid can resist, "Do you want to go for a bike ride to a playground?"

We started at the Riverside trailhead and went upriver towards Slickrock Park. Due to a detour we had to do some of our own route finding, which included riding on some dirt right next to the Dinosaur Discovery Center, which we had enjoyed last year. It didn't take long to get to the unique park, which consists of two huge boulders.

 The boulders are about 12 feet tall and have some challenging routes up them (some I certainly couldn't do!). It was a fun change from a regular park. Then we headed on the bike trail (which included an unexpected portion down an alleyway) to 2540 East Park. This was a fun park, and the kids enjoyed the playground.

Next we rode a few blocks to go over to Centennial Park. It's so much fun to check out the different playgrounds, and the kids liked the different challenges. After playing a bit, we rode a few streets over to Middleton Wash trail, and got on at the beginning.

 The trail is fantastic, going through tunnels and over bridges next to a scenic creek. Since we don't have very good places to ride bikes where we live (except on the highway, which is certainly not ideal for kids), I am so grateful to have the opportunity to use these multi-use trails.

 Even better in Desert Boy's mind was that the whole trail was downhill.

 Once we got back along the Virgin River, the kids asked to stop and throw rocks. We said yes, after all it is often the simplest pleasures that give the greatest joys. Desert Boy thought he wanted to swim, but once his toes touched the water, he changed his mind. Maybe some other time.

So if you're heading to St. George, check out the urban trails. They have so many, and they are great for a walk, ride, or skate.